Annoying things your work colleagues do all the time? #3

[Hollie Day]

When I'm on tattle and colleagues disturb me with really important work related issues.

 

[TommyTBFC]

I work in an office within a warehouse - therefore, no mobile phones are permitted. So on a Friday afternoons I have a little play on Solitaire on the computer. But for some reasons my colleagues all crowd round my computer like they’ve never seen solitaire before it’s “that 10 can go there” “put that 7 on that 8” “the ace card can go on the top” it’s so infuriating. I’ve played this game on the computer on and off since 1995 I don’t need your input thanks, I’m just doing something to count down the hours at the end of the week. It’s not the solitaire World Cup final

 

[ItsMeMelZ]

Is anyone else feeling burnt out by the social element of being back in the office. My colleagues seem energized and I just feel drained. The constant noise when I'm trying to focus on something, the inane small talk and endless interruptions. I'm getting nothing done. They all appear to be basking in it and I'm retreating into my shell, so it must be my issue?

 

[Dinky]

When someone leaves for the day, forgets something, about turns and shouts "MORNING"....

 

[soph30]

Being asked to lunch with co-workers where you have to order like one course for £12 and pick at it delicately and make small talk- I just want my crisps and sandwich and two chocolate bars and browsing Tattle

 

[Heidi88]

I got a job offer today. Will finally be leaving my toxic manager behind. Have a ridiculously long notice period but there is an end in sight!

 

[Samf2020]

I have one colleague who is regimented on her calorie intake for every day, if she has had a coffee she cant have another without redoing her whole days intake. Whatever she seems happy with it.
But now she has decided everyone needs to eat clean and go for walks at lunchtime so that we are working better.
A load of them are all oh you are so right lets do this. I just ignored the messages as I do not want my work telling me what I can and cant eat.
She actually approached me at my desk and loudly asked why I was not joining in. The implication being that if anyone needed it its me. I told her I wasnt interested and ended the conversation.
To say I feel uncomfortable eating at work is an understatement.
And they wonder why I prefer working from home.

 

[witchofwestbyfleet]

Calling team meetings a "huddle" - it's stupid, pointless, gives me the weird mental image of us all trying to crowd into a small space together, and screams "we wanted a buzzword"

 

[ScrambledEggs]

Ok .. hear me out . I took time off after my mum died and I can finally talk about her death without crying. Some colleagues won't just stop at Hi ,how are you . They keep going on and on to the point where I burst into tears and it seems they enjoy that element of making me sad so they can feel special by comforting me .

They aren't even close colleagues . A friend observed this recently & after the other person had left said they were on the verge of telling them to fuck off because it was blatant goading.

Don't get me wrong, it's nice for people to ask how you are but that's where it should stop .

 

[Spoke]

My colleague is obsessed with the gym and trying to lose weight so she always talks about what she’s eaten and what a ‘pig’ she is because she’s had a carvery or something. I’m bigger than she is so I sometimes wonder if it’s a bit of a dig but I find it triggering. Wish she would just stop cos it makes me feel uncomfortable.

I have a colleague who is similar and I just said “wow I’d hate to hear what you think about me” and she was like “???” and I said pretty much what you’ve said, I’m bigger than you and all you do is talk about how gross my body type is which I don’t appreciate hearing in the workplace

 

[1001 others]

Thank you for the shiny new thread, @Hope96 !

I used to work in a place where meetings were banned on Fridays which, in essence, was quite a good idea as it gave everyone a decent chance to get stuff done ... but there were no exceptions for crisis meetings or anything of the sort, which was silly.

In the same place, our manager encouraged us to get up off our seats and go and talk to people - rather than emailing them - of course that's all fine and dandy in an ordinary world, but when you're dealing with people who'll say they'll do something only to later deny they ever agreed to it ... well, let's just say emails are handy to have in case evidence is needed!

A friend has just returned to her job from maternity leave and is having a hell of a time. Her workplace decided that they liked the contractor filling her role while she was off, better than her, so created a new position for this person that sits alongside my friend's role. The contractor makes little comments under her breath constantly while my friend is on the phone to people (they sit next to each other), and is holding back on giving my friend information during handover sessions (this other person denies that is happening). My friend has returned to work on reduced hours to start off with (leaving mid-afternoon everyday), which the contractor has been using to her advantage by "finishing off" things she says my friend failed to do (she's very vocal about that to all the right people), and organising team get-togethers (dinners, drinks, etc.), where she tells them all that my friend's head isn't in it. I've suggested my friend find another job STAT! My friend is well-liked and used to get on fabulously with everyone in the team, but when she went on maternity leave only a couple bothered to keep in contact, and have stayed friendly - everyone else has iced her out. These two said to her before she returned that they won't pick sides, which was the first time she sensed there was even any drama there! Hideous.

 

[Emerald37]

See my work problem is people who have kids expect to be given priority ahead of people without kids when it comes to days in the office and that's certainly not acceptable either.

 

[AshMay]

This whole thread when @TheGlossy leaves the team:




But seriously, congratulations on the offer and hope the new contract comes through soon Keep us updated!!

 

[Tanne1999]

My manager has just sat here and said she doesn’t agree with homosexuality. She thinks it’s a sin, it’s immoral, gay couples shouldn’t have children, and it’s perverted.

I, a very proud bisexual, am absolutely devastated. I feel like quitting. I don’t know how I can work with someone who hates part of who I am.

 

[TiaandTamera]

I manage a team of 4. One person recently joined us to replace someone else. The woman is max 2 years older than me and today she referred to me as "love". One of my team members is an intern and she does it to her too. I am currently working my notice and have around 8 weeks left so I wont be saying anything but it is so annoying and unprofessional.

This takes me back to when we had an intern on a college placement many moons ago. She kept calling our manager Babez I wouldn't mind but he was the most dour man you'd ever meet. I still crack up over 10 years later at his facial expression

 

[Pineapple glitter]

The way some male colleagues have no self awareness or awareness of others. I witnessed one standing up at his desk to have a good old stretch, he let out a loud groan and then twiddled and adjusted his private parts, he then stuck his thumb up his nose and then walked by my desk and said... "just going kitchen, do you want a cuppa"?
No thanks

 

[WeHadFunRight]

A colleague signs off emails with
“Dream BIG!”

And it has never not made me cringe.

They’ve started saying it at the end of meetings too and I have no poker face. I hate it.

 

[Pinhead Larry]

The new guy in our office is a big snitch. None of us really like him but we're polite in work as you have to be. He's also really patronising to some of us, and we know he does it knowingly because it is only in certain circumstances.

He has a personalised number plate with '666' on it, and was asked why that number. He told us because in his old job he went in on his day off, thought the place was a mess so wrote a formal complaint about all his colleagues to higher management, resulting in everyone being bollocked, so someone changed his staff number to that as a dig/joke, then him and his partner found that hilarious and got it as the number plate. He actually told us all this as if that's great too nobody likes a grass.

 

[Ensay]

Today's rant...

People who only seem to read their emails a couple of times a week, so start forwarding multiple emails in one go with "for your info" or "please can you deal with this?"

If you'd sent them on the day you received them, I'd be able to space the work out, but as you seem to choose to forward shed loads of emails every Friday, some with "please can this be provided by the end of the week" it doesn't leave me much time to deal with it. Though last time I "missed" a deadline I just said to the originator that it had only been forwarded to me on the Friday and named the person. I'm caring less about dropping people in it these days.

 

[CatCafe234]

I work in public sector and we have an employee survey annually.

The scores are published and fuck all is ever done about it.

At a team level changes are made but at a higher corporate level nothing changes.

So the big ticket whinges I.e pay, not enough staff, workloads too high, not recruiting, too much red tape etc. Nothing ever changes

Instead we just get 100 emails a week about wellbeing and screen breaks.

Ahhhh, the well-being emails. Workload too high? Well have you tried a bubble bath? Bullying at work? Try taking a nice long walk. Recruitment freeze impacting your team’s morale? Maybe you should take up yoga. Worried about being able to afford food? Sign up to this scheme where if you drop £100 on a supermarket gift card they’ll give you an extra £2.50! It’s not a pay rise but it’ll sure feel like one!

In the meantime, you can also talk to one of our ‘highly trained’ (don’t laugh) Well-being Champions*.

*known workplace gossip and brown-noser who wouldn’t hesitate to shop anyone in if it meant a promotion.